Page 138 of Just One Fake Date

Ty looked up her phone number and found it right away, on the right street in Brooklyn. He called and the phone didn’t even ring once before it was answered.

“Shannyn?” Aidan asked, his concern clear.

“Tyler. She’s here.”

Aidan audibly exhaled. “Good. I just got in and kind of freaked when she wasn’t here.”

“Don’t worry. She’s okay.”

“Did you go to the wedding with her?”

“Yes. She had a drink and it hit her hard. She’s asleep now.”

Aidan swore. “Then that bastard was there. If Shannyn had a drink, he was being an asshole.”

Ty was intrigued by the conclusion. “Why do you say that?”

“Well, two reasons. One, he is an asshole. I mean, it’s a special kind of hell to see your sister married to a jerk, but you can’t say anything because she loves him.”

“I know exactly how that goes,” Ty admitted.

“It nearly finished her when he dumped her, but I wanted to throw a party. He was such a dick, and that can’t have changed much.”

“I hear you. What else?”

“Shannyn never drinks.”

“She had a tequila shooter.”

“Tequila? That would flatten her. I’ve never seen her drink.”

“Sounds like a matter of policy.”

“It is. She said she got drunk at a party in college once and said something mean that wasn’t true. She said it was never going to happen again.”

Ty had a very good idea what that something had been.

“I’m really glad you were there,” Aidan said.

“Me, too.”

“Ouch!” Aidan said suddenly. “All right. I’ll feed you, Fitz,” he said, then spoke to Tyler again. “You wouldn’t believe the mess here. Shannyn must have left out dry kibble for his majesty and he didn’t want it, because it is everywhere. He must have been kicking it around the place ever since she left.”

Ty smiled at that mental image. “You’d better feed him then.”

“I’m on it.” Ty heard the can opener and a familiar yowl. “Hey, thanks for your advice the other day. I got a job at a microbrewery in Portland, starting in two weeks.”

“Good for you.”

“The guy wants an apprentice and he’s going to get one. All right,all right, Fitz. We need to take it out of the can.” Aidan’s voice dropped. “Hey, Tyler, thanks for being there tonight.”

“It’s all good.”

“You’ll hear from me when I have that business plan done, but it sounds like I’ll be seeing your around.” Ty didn’t say anything to that. “Ouch!” Aidan said again, then was gone.

Ty stared at the phone, thinking that maybe one good thing had come out of this.

Shannyn wokeup in a bed that wasn’t her own. She heard honking cars at a distance and she smelled a man’s skin on the sheets.

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